JMU Alumnus Rick Mears Named a Premier IT Leader of 2014

Rick Mears, JMU alumnus and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Owens and Minor Inc., was recently featured in Computerworld's "100 Premier IT Leaders of 2014."

According to the article, Mears acts as one of the CIO business leaders on Team CIO, a three-person group responsible for overseeing the spending of a $50 million investment in IT upgrades at Owens and Minor.

Owens and Minor, a Fortune 500 company based out of Mechanicsville, Va., is one of the leading national distributors of medical and surgical supplies. The company hopes to continually improve by investing in opportunities to enhance its processes through technology. Mears, as one of the CIOs, is responsible for overseeing those developments.

And Mears has made strides since the group’s initial formation in 2011. For example, in 2013, Mears and his teammates signed off on a long-term initiative that equips sales representatives with tablets, enabling reps to instantly access customer-specific information. This initiative has been widely successful in accomplishing Owens and Minor’s business goals.

As a member of Team CIO, Mears and his teammates will continue to work towards effectively aligning IT initiatives with business objectives at Owens and Minor.